§200.2. Field organization. — Inbound Citations

(b) Administrative policy, procedure, and guidance to Forest Service employees for the conduct of Forest Service activities are issued as directives, or through correspondence, by the office of the Chief of the Forest Service and by the field officers listed in § 200.2.

(1) Directives are issued through the Forest Service Directive System, which is comprised of the Forest Service Manual and related Forest Service Handbooks. The Directive System codifies the agency's policy, practice, and procedure affecting more than one unit and the delegations of continuing authority and assignment of continuing responsibilities; serves as the primary administrative basis for the internal management and control of all programs; and is the primary source of administrative direction to Forest Service employees.

(2) In contrast to direction issued through the Directive System, guidance issued to one or more organizational units through letters and memoranda relate to decisions or interpretations on specific activities, cases, or incidents or to other matters of agency business, especially those matters of short-term duration or immediate interest.

(b) Information made available pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section may be obtained at the Office of the Chief, or the office of any Regional Forester, Research Station Director, Area Director, Institute Director, Forest Supervisor, or District Ranger. The addresses of these offices are set forth in §§ 200.1 and 200.2. Forest Service personnel at these offices will assist members of the public seeking Forest Service records. However, Research Station and Institute Directors and District Rangers may not have all volumes of the Forest Service Manual and Handbooks. When the information requested is not available at a given location, the personnel where the request is received will direct the requester to another office where the information may be obtained.

(a) The Regional Forester, Regional Special Agent in charge, Research Station Director, Area Director, and Institute Director at the field locations and addresses listed in § 200.2; the Director of Law Enforcement and Investigations, other Staff Directors, or other officials whom the Chief may authorize, located in the Washington Office, are authorized to receive requests for such records, to make determinations regarding whether records exist, and to grant or deny requests for records exempt from disclosure under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552(b).

(b) Proposals for special uses must be filed in writing with or presented orally to the District Ranger or Forest Supervisor having jurisdiction over the affected land (§ 200.2 of this chapter), except as follows:

(1) Proposals for projects on lands under the jurisdiction of two or more administrative units of the Forest Service may be filed at the most convenient Forest Service office having jurisdiction over part of the project, and the proponent will be notified where to direct subsequent communications;

(2) Proposals for cost-share and other road easements to be issued under § 251.53(j) must be filed in accordance with regulations in § 212.10(c) and (d) of this chapter; and

(3) Proposals for oil and gas pipeline rights-of-way crossing Federal lands under the jurisdiction of two or more Federal agencies must be filed with the State Office, Bureau of Land Management, pursuant to regulations at 43 CFR part 2882.

Publication of the indexes described in § 200.4 is deemed both unnecessary and impractical because of the large volume of material involved. However, copies of the indexes are available for public review in the Forest Service headquarters office in Washington, DC, and at field offices listed under § 200.2(d). The Forest Service will provide copies of any index upon request at a cost not to exceed the direct cost of duplication.